Seeing clearly.

Valeo is showing OEMs an "Active Cleaning System," a combination of technologies designed to optimize windshield visibility that includes: a heated wash system, fat blade wipers, a rain/light/transition sensor, and a composite wiper arm link. And while an OEM can add each of these items to its vehicles separately, together--on a luxury sedan or high-end sport utility, for example--the company says they become a safety system that can be sold to the customer. "In the luxury market," says Martin Haub, group vice president, Research & Development and product Marketing, "buyers are quite solely conscious, and interested in the latest technologies. They will pay a premium for something with a visible advantage."

Despite the pun, Haub insists the system has passed rigorous testing. Though clearing snow and ice during in the winter would seem to be the main focus of the heated washer, it has year-round capabilities. "The toughest thing for a wiper system to clean off the windshield," claims Haub, "are insects and other proteins." And one way Valeo tests a wiper's protein cleaning ability is by smearing raw eggs on a windshield, and letting it bake in the sun. The 65[degrees]C washer fluid not only dissolves and lifts the gunk from the surface of the glass, it reduces the amount of fluid necessary to clean the surface by an average of 50%, and is compatible with all brands of washer fluid.

The blades used in the Active Cleaning System are Valeo's Opti-Flat wiper blades. They replace the metal superstructure that hold current designs to the glass with a pair of metal splines integrated Into the airfoil-shaped blade. "It sits much lower than current blade designs," says Haub, "has a reduced parts count, and applies a more even force. It can even handle greater curvatures than conventional blade designs." At higher speeds (150 kph), the Opti-Flat design reduces wind noise by 3 dB, and the unit can be integrated into the vehicle's styling and sit closer to the glass via special wiper arms.

Adding a rain/light/transition sensor reduces the amount of work the driver has to do in order to get the required wiping motion for the conditions. And the composite link--basically a "load fuse" that allows the wiper to buckle under compressive load--prevents the system from damaging itself if it is left on, or triggered when obstructions are in the way. "There's no reason for a heavy load of snow to irreparably damage the wiper system with this device," says Haub. Or for upmarket drivers to not see clearly.--CAS